Golf club



' 0;.13,1936. w. H MCKENNA 2,057,275

GOLF CLUB Filed Nov. 25, 1935 INVENTOR Patented Oct. 13, 1936 i-UNI'TED 'STATES PATENT vOFFICE i l'Of V14 claims. (c1. 27s- 17) This invention relates to golf clubs andl more particularly-i 1to1` nagauge for; spacing the club from `the ground at thebeginning of a drive orA when the exigencies of the gamev make it 5f necessary or desirable to tee up the golf ball.

The invention is particularly `applicable to or useful when combined with one of the so-called "woods, such as the "drh/er, brassie, or spoon, which are commonly used to impart the maximum distance possible to the flight of When the ball is teed up at the beginning of the drive, either from the tee or from the course, the bottom of the ball is an appreciable distance from the ground. To make the fproper stroke, it

islnecessary that the forward path of the `golf` club be `such .that the bottompart or sole of the club be a' predetermined vheight above the ground;4 It-:is thus desirable tor space the golf clubfrom thezgroundat the beginning oi the stroke. i I

"One of the objects of the invention is'to provide an attachment which can be applied to the: head1V of, Lthe golf club' without 'Y altering the balance or feel of the club and which, when inthe operative position, `will space thev bottom 'of the club Y, at apredetermined `distance* from theY ground at the -ubeginning oftheA stroke. In the.

l eventthat th forward swingof the clubhead approachesthe ground closer `than theV gauge distance; thexcontact of the ground and the gauge will'cause tlievgaug'e to be retracted immediately andV witlrno effect onthe path of the Club. i

`.Byfstarting ,the backV swing with the clubhead above the ground. theknown tendency'of some golfers to 'dig .the "club headinto the ground on the 4forward'stroke is greatlyl lessened and in most cases 'entirely obviated by the use of this device. W.

The nature of Ythe'invention is such that thel gauge wheninot-in the operativep'osition, is retracted so that itfliesilii'at with Ythe sole of the club and forros apartwthereof. It is thus possible by setting thegauge in a neng-operative position to use the club Yprecisely as if ,the gauge` were not a partA thereof..` This is of value when the ball has such a lie that the shot is aproper one `for a brasseoraspoon.:

55" club to which theinvention is attached;

Figure 2 is a cross-section on line II- -II of Figure 1:. i

- Figure 3V showsa right handed club at the beginning of the stroke with a gauge in operative position; and l Figure 4 is a detail perspective view showing a gauge and part` of themeans for fastening it to the'sole of the club.

As illustrated in the drawing, the gauge consists of a plate 2 of generally rectangular shape, one endofthe plate 3 being enlarged and shaped like a cam. Through the enlarged portion 3 is an opening 4 through which is fitted a hinge pin 5. In order to fasten the gauge to the bottom Ii of the golf club 1'-, two members 8, (only one of which is shown in Figure 4) are provided.` The member il` has an enlarged end 9 through which an openingl is drilled to accommodate pin 5. The member 8 is fastened to club 'I by means of screws I I which pass through the hole I 2' provided in member 8. In order that 'the gauge 2 may be quickly retracted when a small amount of; force is applied against the edge of the gauge when it is 'in the operative position', as shown, for. examplain Figurea, the cammed end 35 bears against a coil spring I3` which is inserted` in a container I4 set into the head of the club.` The cam 3 is so shaped that when a slight force` is exerted againstY the gauge, the gauge Willsnap into the retracted position. A Washer I5 is interposed between the cam 4 and the spring I3.

In orderv to attach the gauge 2 to the club 1, the bottom of the club is hollowed out to receive the container I4 and members 8 which are secured to the bottom of the club by means of the screws II. When the device is installed in the bottom of the club, the bottom of the members 8 andthe gauge2`lie ush with and form a part of the sole plate I6 of the club. One corner I'I of the gaugel` isV shaped so that ones fingernails may be readily inserted to raise Vthe gauge 2 Vto operative position.

In Figure 3, I have shown a right-handed club with the member 2 in operative position substantially `at right angles to the sole of the club at the beginning of the stroke. The golf ball [8 is shown resting on the tee I9.

Of course, the sole plate I6 of the club may be so formed that both portions of it shown in Figure 1 and the members 8 may form an integral member, in which case it will be necesa sary to provide an opening in which the member on the under part of the sole which would be hinged to member 2 by means of a pin.

The manner in which this golf club is used is obvious. At the beginning of the stroke, the member 2 is placed in the operative or extended position shown in Figure 3. If the swing is made properly, the gauge will just clear the ground and will have absolutely no effect on the swing. If, however, the forward swing is such that the sole of the club is closer to the ground than it was at the beginning of the stro-ke, the contact of the ground and the gauge will cause the gauge to be retracted promptly, aided by the operation of spring I3. The effect upon' the golf stroke will be negligible. In case it is desired not to use the gauge, it will be left .in the retracted position shown in full lines in Figure 2, in which case, the bottom of the golf club presents a continuous face or sole plate.

a preferred embodiment of my invention, it Will be understood that changes in the constructio-n and relationship of the various parts may be made Without departing either from the spirit of the invention or the scope of my claims.

I claim:

1. A golf club having a head and a. hinged member secured to the bottom of the head, which member may be set in an operative position approximately at right angles to the bottom of the club and which when retracted by movement of the club, will lie ush with the sole of the club and substantially at right angles to its operative position.

2. A golf club having a head and a hinged member secured to the bottom of the head, which member may be set in a position approximately at right angles to the bottom of the club and which when retracted will lie substantially at right angles to the former position and' iiush with the sole of the club, said hinged member consisting of a plate having one end thereof shaped like a cam, and means for yieldably exerting pressure against said cam-like end.

3. A golf club having a head, a hinged member secured to the bottom of the head, which member may be set in a position approximately at right angles to the bottom of the club and which when retracted will lie ush with the sole of the club, said hinged member consisting of a plate having one end thereof shaped like a cam, and a spring within the head cooperating with the cam of the plate for releasably holding the member in either position.

4. A golf club having a head and a hinged member secured to the bottom of the head, which member may be set in an operative position approximately at right angles to the bottom of the club, said member being retractible by the contact of the member with the ground on the downward swing of the club, and which when retracted will lie substantially at right angles to its operative position and flush with the sole of the club, and a spring cooperating with said member whereby the member is assisted to a retracted position. v

5. An attachment for a golf club consisting of a retractible member which when in operative position projects substantially normal to the sole of the club and which when retracted lies in a position approximately at right angles to the operative position and flush with the sole of the club, means pivotally mounting said member on the sole of a golf club, whereby the club may be spaced a predetermined distance from the ground, and a spring cooperating with said member whereby the member is assisted to the retracted position.

6. An attachment for a golf club consisting of a retractible member which when in operative position projects substantially normal to the sole of the club and which when retracted lies in a position approximately at right angles to the operative position and substantially flush with the sole of the club, means pivotally mounting said member on the sole of a golf club, whereby the club may be spaced a predetermined distance from vthe ground, and a spring cooperating with said ymember whereby the member is assisted to the retracted position, said spring being enclosed within the head of the club.

7. A golf club having a head with a ball engaging face, and gauge means connected to the head and movable from a projecting position While I have herein illustrated and described where it extends below the bottom of the head to a retracted position lwhere it is substantially flush with the bottom of the head and arranged to be moved to the retracted position when it contacts with the ground on the forward stroke of the club but cannot retract by contact with the ground on the back stroke of the club.

8. A golf club having a head, means pivoted adjacent the bottom of the head for spacing the head from the ground at the beginning of the playing'stroke, said means being movable from the spacing position to a position approximately at right angles thereto by the contact of the spacing means with the ground during the down swing of the club.

9. A golf club having a head, a gauge element pivotally mounted on the head and projecting downwardly from the bottom of the head for spacing the club from the ground at the beginning of the playing stroke, said means being movable from the spacing position to a position substantially at right angles therewith where it is substantially parallel to and flush with the sole of the club by the contact of the gauge element with the ground during the down swing of the club.

10. A golf club having a head, a gauge element carried on the head movable from an operative position where it projects substantially vertically downwardly beyond the bottom of the head 'to a position substantially at right angles to the operating position of said gauge element where it is substantially flush with the bottom of the head, and means for resiliently holding said gauge in either position.

11. A'golf club having a head,'a recess in the bottom surface of the head, and a movable gauge element secured to the head adjacent the recess and movable from an extended vertical position where it projects below the bottom of the head to a retracted horizontal position where it is substantially received in said recess.

12. A golf club having a head, a recess in the bottom surface of the head, a movable gauge element secured to the head adjacent the recess and movable from an extended position where it projects downwardly below the bottom of the head to a retracted position substantially at right angles to the extended position where it is received in said recess, and means for releasably holding the gauge element in either position.

13. A golf club having a head, and a spacing member secured in a recess in the bottom surface of the club head for elevating the sole of the club a predetermined distance from the ground, said member being movable from the spacing position which is normal to the sole of the club to a position in said recess by contact of said spacing member with the ground during the down swing of the club.

14. A golf club having a head, a. hinged member secured to the bottom surface of the head,

which member may be set in an operative position approximately at right angles to the bottom of the club and which, when retracted Vbs" movementof the club, will assume a position which is not less than a right angle from its original po- 5 

